PETALING JAYA, 3rd May 2023: The pilot episode of GenZ @ The Podium was aired on the 2nd of May 2022 and it was remarkably intense. The topic titled “Amendment of Personal Data Protection Act'' was debated heatedly by 20 debaters from all over Malaysia. The session was moderated by the Assistant Director at Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR) under Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia, Mr. Mohamad Ika Danial Abdullah.
Organised by the KiniEvents and supported by the Ministry of Youth and Sports, International Republican Institute (IRI) as Collaborative Partner, Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP) as Soft Training Skill Partner, Experiential Design Team (EDT) as Metaverse Partner. Joining us this year as Co-Partners are UNDI 18, Institute for Research & Development of Policy (IRDP), Malaysian Youth Association of Diplomacy and Policy (MYADP), UNDI Sabah and The Risers. Last but not least, our media partners on board, Malaysiakini, KiniTV, Cilisos Media, Astro Awani and SAYS.
The debaters who participated in this session were aged between 18 to 25 years old and they have highlighted many weaknesses to do with the current law on PDPA in Malaysia along with how the Personal Data Protection Department (JPDP) is not a statutory body which is a weakness in the PDPA enforcement and more.
On top of these issues, the debaters have also proposed suggestions that can combat the issues with data breaches and also for stakeholders to take extra initiatives to learn about their data rights as well as to protect data leaks. The statements by the debaters are still votable until the 28th May 2023.
Luqman Hakim Bin Abd Ghani, a 22 year old student from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) was awarded the Best Debater for this motion topic’s session. He was deemed outstanding by the panel of judges because he had strongly highlighted how the current Personal Data Protection Act does not provide inclusive protection, hence why there were loopholes data breachers can’t get away with. He had excellently answered other debaters’ questions that were directed to him.
The Best Debater was selected by representatives of the organiser and the partners. The panel of judges were Chia Ting Ting, Chief Commercial Officer of Malaysiakini Group; Hanif Abdullah, Senior Program Consultant, Malaysia of the International Republican Institute; Amy Suhana, Content and Marketing Officer, and Azim Nadzari, Head, Training & Development of Malaysian Institute of Debate and Public Speaking (MIDP).
The judges collectively agreed that the young debaters had some great points such as the company's dependence on the federal government's actions to address the data leakage problem and pointed out how the companies are supposed to be responsible for ensuring that the policies enacted can be the main defence in curbing the problem of data leakage and intrusion from the initial stage.
Vote for the debaters’ statements and also your favourite debaters from now until 28th May 2022. To better understand the debaters’ statements and suggestions, you can watch the replay of the session here. The Most Popular Debater Award winner will be announced on 30th May 2023.
Recruitment to participate as a debater for the 2nd motion topic of GenZ @The Podium 2023 is now OPEN and all submissions must reach the organiser by 1st June 2023 (Thursday). No payment is required for the submissions.
We look forward to receiving your entries and don’t miss out on the golden opportunity to debate as a nation leader yourself!
